Ruination.
Annihilation.
The Prime universe was no more.
The place where it previously stood...was replaced by eternal non-existence.
Returned to Death...and Oblivion.
It had become history only to be recorded in the Timestream!
This feat was nothing short of epochal...but that wasn't something worthy of concern as during that tensive moment, two hegemonic figures had yet to duke it out seriously!
The Mad Titan and the Prime God Emperor!
A wielder of the Infinity Gauntlet and a mysterious outsider whose full strength was yet to be known.
At the spot where the universe was supposed to be, the two opponents stood on opposite sides.
Noah and his goddesses were practically unharmed... well, one of Noah's hacks was [Reality Warping Immunity].
Any alteration to the reality around him was negated and that includes the erasure of whole reality.
That was only one of his skills that took the limelight of the moment...let's not forget he was also the Embodiment of Destruction and sigh, the Primal Law of Nothingness!
Thanos smirked as he stared at this mysterious Entity who wasn't easily erased.
"You are still alive, I see. Anyway, it would have been too suspicious if you had returned to nothingness just like that after all that previous big talk."
"You know I am still curious about your full power...well, it doesn't matter."
"In a short moment, I will know it... that is after I have destroyed you to the last atom!"
"Hubby, haven't you played enough with this purple guy?" Xia Qingyue walked up to Noah and pinched his cheek.
"Yeah...I want to see him defeated. This purple baddy is too arrogant," Caizhi's annoying yet cute voice butted in.
The other goddesses also looked at Noah, wondering what he was always thinking.
Noah just smiled at them as the [True Annihilatory Spear of Oblivion] returned to its previous ring form on his finger.
"Okay then, it seems like I have to wrap up things on my side."
CRACK!
He cracked his knuckles, battle intent strongly rising in his eyes.
"My fists would do just right."
As Noah moved toward Thanos, he couldn't help but reminisce about DBZ.
It was a pity that he had never followed its storyline well but he had a general knowledge about it.
He was among those who watched it for its blood-pumping fights and massive transformations after transformations.
From Broly Versus Goku to Goku versus the god of destruction, Beerus...Was there someone in his previous world who didn't know about these legendary fights?
He honestly didn't think so...no one doesn't know Goku!
He couldn't help but shake his head when he compared them to the current him.
Heck, he reckoned that it wouldn't be a problem to even act as some wish-granting system to the Dragon Ball Multiverse...He could easily replace Super Shenron and surpass him since the Eternal Dragon seemed not to be in full control of its power!
'Truly ridiculous. Comparing DBZ and Marvel is just...hehe!' He chuckled inwardly.
"Thanos of Titan, do you think you can win against me?" Noah put his hands in his pockets as his figure stood still in the boundless space.
Thanos was startled by his question for a moment before he smiled.
Noah's question intrigued him.
"Since I am being of logic and reason, the right answer to your question is...I don't know."
"Nothing in the grand scheme of the multiverse is always set in stone."
"Anything could happen...but I have always prepared myself for such eventualities!"
"That is...with undisputed power!"
What an unwavering confidence!
He was a devastator in nature!
"Haha, I like your confidence. Thanos, do you know stories about heroes and villains?" Noah asked in a playful voice.
Thanos looked at Noah with a face full of extreme surprise.
'What is he trying to say?' He thought inwardly.
But anyway, he answered him as they were already at the stage where only one man will remain standing after they finalize this farce.
"Of course, I know about heroes and villains. Isn't it always the heroes who always win against the villains?"
"Yeah, you are right. It is like some form of universal truth for the ugly muscle-bound villain to be always on the side of defeat against the handsome, elegant young hero."
"What are you trying to say?" A thick vein popped on Thanos's bald head. He then frowned before speaking in an arrogant tone.
"To me... Survival is only for the strongest...That is the only immutable law of the universe that I bide in."
"It is only natural for entities of supreme power to seek dominion over their fellow beings."
"Sorry, if you felt offended. I am not implying that you are ugly or anything. Well, your views about strength are true," Noah chuckled lightly.
"I am not a hero nor a villain...or even you Thanos, you are not the bad guy," He continued, speaking without further thoughts.
"Whoever has power has the right to act on his or her desires. Since the beginning, you were never my opponent Thanos. Just like how someone reads a comic book...I have already read you. Just like how those Cosmic Entities perceive other 'lesser' beings as fictitious...I, Noah, perceive you and other Cosmic Entities as characters in a narrative."
"That is how your 3-D continuum looks to me."
Thanos didn't reply and just remained silent.
He then closed his eyes for a moment...It wasn't a second, or even microsecond....because, at that instant moment, Thanos used the empowered Infinity Gauntlet to connect his consciousness to the Timestream, perceiving all there was, there is, and soon to be.
His Omni-reality perception, encompassing the past, present, and future timelines, even destiny and the boundaries of Causality!
What the hell was Thanos looking for?
He was looking into his own future and the 'Entity from Beyond' in front of him.
What he found wasn't surprising to the least, no, he was surprised just a little bit.
Noah wasn't bound by the Spatio-temporal continuum... it was as if he had escaped its grasp entirely.
He was Transcendent.
He wasn't part of the linear time.
And when Thanos looked into the infinite possible future centered around him...he was saddened.
He had no future...which meant that he would perish across all alternate timelines and the infinite multiverses.
Nothing. He was pretty much non-existent.
"Sigh, so that was what you meant...I believe it yet chooses not to do so. My current anchor to the present is what will spell my eventual doom," Thanos released a peal of saddening laughter.
"I have sensed 'them' the Abstract Entities...the whole Omniverse. I think the only one who can handle you is the One who seats on the Throne of the whole Marvel Reality."
"It is quite ironic how I saw those noble heroes, is how you are currently seeing me...now I understand what you are talking about."
Thanos then raised the hand with the empowered Infinity Gauntlet before smiling and as if his decision was already set...he directed a resolute look at Noah.
"Before I embrace my eternal rest...I have one last question for you," He asked his voice, devoid of any previous sadness.
Noah nodded nonchalantly. "Ask away."
"Do you feel it...you know what I mean? As if all of our existence is predetermined? And someone is watching us?"
Noah's eyes shone with brilliance as he was able to grasp the concept of what Thanos had meant.
"You mean the "Readers"...Well, I know about it. I am also well aware that I might also be a character in the grand calculus of the narrative."
"Haha, it feels weird, right?" Thanos laughed it off.
"What did you expect?" Noah chuckled.
He had no hate for Thanos...even if he was psychotic, and all sorts of messed up.
In his previous life, he had actually admired him.
He was a man with guts and arrogance!
A True Mad Titan!
"Can we proceed? I want peace, away from this damnable aspect called 'existence'?" Thanos spoke as he assumed a battle posture.
Noah also took a battle posture.
It was going to be hand-to-hand combat.
"I will send you on your way then, O Thanos of Titan."
"Make sure to entertain me and the 'audience'!"
And then both of them moved at the same time.
When Noah attacked, he swung just a simple fist at Thanos.
But it was anything but simple...as he had concentrated all of his physical power onto it.
His fist traveled at immeasurable speeds, transcending time and space and without giving Thanos a chance to retaliate, it connected with his face.
What happened next would surely devastate the Multiverse as Thanos's built figure could be seen shattering apart the walls of different realities with Noah following behind.
No, another Cosmic Entity also followed behind...It seemed they couldn't hold their impatience any longer.
Was this finally going to be a three-way battle?
Or was Noah going to stomp even the nosy character behind them?
***